You Were Never Here

Written by Kathleen Peacock

HarperTeen

978-0-06-300251-7

392 pp.

Ages 13+ 

October 2020

 

I used to think that once things broke, you couldn't put them back together, that the cracks would always be present and there was no point in trying. (pg. 388)

Seventeen year old Mary Catherine Montgomery a.k.a. Cat undoubtedly thinks of herself as broken, or at least not normal, and it has nothing to do with her physique, though she often deprecates herself for her wild red hair and chubbiness. What Cat can do, since puberty, is feel others' desires and fears when she has skin-to-skin contact. Consequently, she wears long sleeves as much as possible and avoids crowds and any chance of close contact with anyone. She's learned from experience how damaging it can be to reveal what she knows. The first time was with Riley Fraser, the boy next door to her Aunt Jet's in Montgomery Falls, New Brunswick. Now after another incident because of her gift, Cat is leaving her home in NYC and going to stay with her aunt. But things are much different now. Oh, she still has her gift, though she generally knows how to avoid its consequences. It's Riley. He's disappeared.

At her aunt's home, now a rooming house, Cat meets eighteen-year-old Aidan Porter, as well as his friends Chase, Joey and Skylar, and reconnects with Riley's older brother Noah who returned from university when his brother disappeared three months earlier. As Cat tries to fit in with her horror film-loving new acquaintances and piece together the bullying that Skylar is experiencing related to Riley, as well as help Noah learn what happened to his brother, Cat gets caught up in another incident when they discover the near-dead body of another student, Rachel Larsen.

In a thrilling YA novel of a suspicious disappearance, a supernatural gift and the natural need for acceptance and human contact, Kathleen Peacock sends us into the community of Montgomery Falls and into the heads of Cat and several others to recognize that,

Sometimes... people fear the things they want or want the things they fear. (pg. 154)

Discovering what happened to Riley is paramount in You Were Never Here but learning about Cat's ability and how that has impacted her relationships with Riley, her NYC friend Lacey, her father, and others is also relevant. Because of that power, Cat avoids getting close to people, including her own family, and can't trust herself to feel for anyone, worried that they might run out on her or accuse her of being a monster. How do you trust others when you can't trust yourself? Blending Cat's gift with regular teenage angst, a craving for friendship and a bit of romance, and a mystery or two to be solved, Kathleen Peacock has created a story teeming with emotions and tension, and reminds us what it takes to be human, and Cat most certainly is. She's bright, realistic, compassionate, and cautiously trusting, though not always of herself. She is not the monster but there is one around. And, as with any good mystery, the reveal is both unexpected and convincing.

The Upside of Falling: Guest review

This review was written by teacher Elizabeth Cook.

 

Written by Alex Light

HarperTeen

9780062918055

288 pp.

Ages 12-18

February 2020

 

Also available as an audiobook from

HarperAudio

 Narrated by Caitlin Kelly and Austin Rising

6 hr 41 min

 

The Upside of Falling is a YA novel that focuses on two teenagers in high school who improbably come together under unique circumstances. Coming together is weird enough; staying together is another matter.

 

Brett Wells is the most liked guy in high school. He's captain of the football team and is helping the team achieve great success this year. Moreover he's a really good guy, known for being kind to everyone, a trait which he may have inherited from his generous parents who've just donated a ton of money to redo the football field.  Brett Wells would be considered the guy who had it all. 

 

Becca Hart would be the opposite. Few people at school would know who she is. A bookworm, Becca regularly has her nose between the pages of a book while she sits under a tree on the far side of the school property. Unlike Brett, Becca's life is one that is far from perfect. Her father left her and her mother five years ago and her best friend abandoned her for the popular crowd two years ago. It's no surprise that Becca prefers to shy away from any connections just to avoid being left behind and disappointed yet again.

When Becca finds herself being publicly accused of being a loveless loner by her former best friend, she lies that she is in a secret relationship. Brett, overhearing this declaration, steps in and puts his arm around Becca to save her from a horrible confrontation. Later, they agree  to continue the fake relationship so they might both achieve something they need: for Becca, to avoid being made into a laughing stock and for Brett, to appease his father about getting a girlfriend. Along the way, they both learn more about the other and what they need for themselves.

 

Written in the alternating voices of Becca and Brett, a style of writing I especially like and which was enhanced by the audiobook's dual narrators, Alex Light's portrayal of her characters was authentic and powerful. Becca's character especially resonated with me as, like many readers, Becca uses books as a personal means of escape. Her anticipation of the happy ending in her books is a balm to daily stresses, as it is for so many, and helps her deal with feelings of abandonment. It's no wonder she carries a book around everywhere, even to a high school football game where she's expected to be paying attention to her boyfriend.

As a young adult novel, The Upside of Falling offers a fabulous read while addressing important and true-to-life issues of belonging, divorce, relationships, and love, and still giving readers the happy ending Becca always looked for.

 

~ Reviewer Elizabeth Cook is a teacher in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature.